Superfast broadband begins rollout across Conwy

SENIOR county councillors have met with top BT staff to discuss the installation of superfast broadband throughout Conwy.

The telecoms firm has begun rolling out its superfast internet network across the county, starting from Kinmel Bay, and will eventually reach all areas of Conwy, including Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Abergele and surrounding villages.

Sites in Conwy Valley and Llanfairfechan will be among the first to benefit from the rollout.

Conwy Council cabinet member for communities, Cllr Phil Edwards, who arranged the talks, said: "The introduction of superfast broadband in Conwy will be a major boost for our economy, our businesses, tourism offer and our residents.

“This is a major works programme that will involve many Council services including Highways and Planning departments and I was keen to ensure that we deal with as many issues up front as possible to avoid any delays in the programme.”

Erw Fawr, a street in Henryd in the Conwy Valley, hit the headlines in April when comparison website uSwitch announced it had the slowest download speeds in the UK, at 0.6mbps.

Broadband expert for uSwitch Marie-Louise Abretti described the connection on the street as “negligible”.

Cllr Goronwy Edwards, who represents the Caerhun ward and farms in the village, said: “The problem has been a worry for years.

“People need to go online for everything these days, I do a lot of my work as a councillor on the web and my wife does the VAT for our farm online.”

Conwy is one of the last areas in Wales scheduled to receive superfast broadband under the government-funded Superfast Cymru project.

Businesses in Conwy can apply for £1,000 grants to install superfast 100mbps satellite broadband, provided they currently have speeds slower than 2mbps.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are leading the way with Superfast Cymru by making fibre available to more people more quickly than the rest of the UK to make Wales one of the most connected countries in the world by 2016.”

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